Robotics Engineer (Electrical / Mechatronics)
- Location
- San Francisco, Austin
- Workplace
- On-site
- Compensation
- $150k – $250k + equity
About this role
We are looking for a Robotics Engineer (Electrical / Mechatronics) with 7+ years of experience to own everything electrical on an autonomous field robot that drives rebar foundations into the ground at utility-scale solar sites. You'll be joining a small, high-agency team building hardware from the ground up — taking systems from concept through deployment and eventually to fleet-level manufacturing. This is a ground-floor role with founding-team-level ownership and direct line of sight to a 100+ MW project in construction. We need someone who thrives in austere environments, owns problems end-to-end without handholding, and is ready to get their hands dirty in the dirt at pilot sites with a multimeter in hand.
What will you be doing?
Owning the robot's full electrical architecture end-to-end: power systems, motor control, sensing, wiring, embedded firmware, and safety circuits for a machine operating in harsh outdoor environments
Selecting and integrating motors, drives, actuators, and sensors — bridging the gap between electrical and mechanical teams on a small, fast-moving squad
Developing embedded firmware and real-time control systems (CAN bus, microcontroller/PLC control loops, fault handling, telemetry) to make heavy equipment behave like a precision robot
Field debugging and root-cause analysis at the Texas pilot site — designing for dust, heat, vibration, and EMI in West Texas summers
Supporting the path from one prototype to a small fleet: wire harness DFM, documentation, supplier management, and guiding the team toward production readiness
What happens next
Skip the application pile. I get you in front of the people who decide.
Confirm the fit
A few questions to make sure this role is the right shape for you. Two minutes.
I pitch you to the company
I write the intro, send it to the founder, and handle the back-and-forth.
A meeting lands on your calendar
When the company wants to meet, I get the call on your calendar. You just show up.
Culture & values
High ownership, high agency — own projects end-to-end
Speed — achieving great things on incredible timelines
First principles — no ego, no hierarchy, challenge every assumption
Passion — putting in long hours and hard work to solve the energy problem
Team members are expected to be self-directed and unblock themselves
Direct voice in shaping what gets built
Bias toward action — building, breaking, and rebuilding prototypes in the field
Small, fast-moving team of seasoned operators
Every hire has outsized impact
Team operates across San Francisco primary office and pilot site in Texas with emphasis on field work
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